Asparagus growers' blessing in disguise?

STOCKTON - Delta asparagus growers, punished by a flood of imports and low prices a month ago, are seeing unusually high prices as supplies of the fresh vegetable dwindle.

Reed Fujii

STOCKTON - Delta asparagus growers, punished by a flood of imports and low prices a month ago, are seeing unusually high prices as supplies of the fresh vegetable dwindle.

Imports of asparagus from Mexico have ended, Washington state is just starting its harvest season, some California growers ceased production because of the previously bad market and cold weather this week has slowed the remaining fields, industry experts said.

"It's just supply and demand. Mexico cleared out their storerooms and coolers; supply lessened; and prices went up," said Cherie Watte Angulo, executive director of the California Asparagus Commission.

Wholesale prices Tuesday ran from $48.75 to $50.75 for a 28-pound carton of standard-size asparagus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.

Last month following Easter, prices for the vegetable fell to as low as $18 a carton, a shock to California growers who say they need about $30 a carton or more just to break even.

Now, growers in the San Joaquin Delta, California's top asparagus production area, are earning top dollar, said Karen Lynch, executive vice president at Zuckerman Family Farms. Unfortunately, the cool weather has slowed growth of the plants.

The USDA report notes that some growers, who contacted asparagus earlier in the season, are getting about $37 to $40 a carton on current production. But a few lots are selling for more than $55 a box.

"I don't think I've ever seen asparagus this high," Lynch said.

Still, that's good for growers, who face increasing costs as well as competition, she added.

"We've got the minimum wage, we've got fuel, all of the components so that our expenditures are high," Lynch said. "At these (price) levels, it's finally good for the growers."

And despite the slowdown in production, there will be plenty of Delta-grown asparagus for the annual Stockton Asparagus Festival, which starts its three-day run Friday, she said.

"The asparagus is being put up by various growers in the Delta and it's going to be delivered," said Lynch, who coordinates festival supplies among farmers. Plans call for about 45,000 pounds of the vegetable to be delivered to Asparagus Alley over three days.

While that may seem like a lot, it's only a portion of current production.

The USDA reported the Stockton-Delta area shipped an average of 376,000 pounds of asparagus a day over five days last week. On Monday alone, 520,000 pounds left area packinghouses.

She also said industry leaders will continue to seek some sort of relief from increasing foreign competition.

They will continue to lobby for a $15 million program in the Farm Bill that would offset asparagus farmers' losses due to imports, she said. They also might pursue an anti-dumping case before an international trade body, although that could be a difficult and costly avenue to pursue.